In this deeply emotional episode of What Makes the Cow Guy Cry, host Jim Dedelow sits down with Scott Shellady for one of the most raw conversations yet — about anger, guilt, grief, and the lifelong pain of losing a child.

Scott opens up about the death of his 17-year-old daughter in the John Hancock Center in Chicago after a heroin overdose — a tragedy he often describes as being "bullied to death." What began as severe middle school bullying spiraled into isolation, toxic friendships, drug experimentation, and ultimately a fatal accident.

This episode explores:

• The anger parents feel after losing a child

• Feeling guilty for moments of relief after tragedy

• The emotional stages of grief (shock, anger, depression, acceptance)

• Heroin overdose awareness and teen drug use

• The long-term psychological impact of bullying

• Parental trauma and complicated grief

• Choosing happiness after devastating loss

• Mental health for fathers and men

• Faith, forgiveness, and resilience

• Living with a "hole in your heart."

• Surviving cancer while carrying grief

Scott speaks candidly about:
• Being angry at his daughter after her death
• Feeling guilt for not having to "worry anymore"
• Watching her struggle after intense bullying in junior high
• The danger of vulnerable teens gravitating toward toxic peer groups
• The haunting memory of seeing his daughter on a gurney
• Praying not to wake up during the darkest 60 days of grief
• Losing his brother to brain cancer
• Fighting prostate cancer himself
• Becoming an adjunct professor at DePaul University as part of his healing journey
• Choosing to live with purpose instead of bitterness

This is not just a story about child loss — it's about:

✔ Parental grief and trauma recovery
✔ Coping with the death of a teenager
✔ The effects of bullying on mental health
✔ Addiction and accidental overdose
✔ Grief counseling insights
✔ Post-traumatic growth
✔ Faith in the face of tragedy
✔ Learning to be less judgmental because "you never know how heavy someone's cross is"

Scott shares the powerful metaphor of feeling like a wounded war veteran who lost a limb — invisible to the world, but painfully present every day. He explains how grief doesn't get better — you just get better at carrying it.

For anyone struggling with:

• The loss of a child

• Suicide or overdose in the family

• Bullying trauma

• Cancer diagnosis

• Survivor's guilt

• Depression after loss

• Finding purpose after tragedy

This conversation is honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.

Because sometimes healing isn't about "getting over it" — it's about choosing, every day, to live anyway.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.